E-Paper
Curfew leaves thieves twiddling thumbs, liquor smuggling up by 55% this April in Chandigarh
No robberies, kidnappings, fewer crimes against women reported as compared to last April
With empty streets, closed shops and altered routines, the new cityscape amid the epidemic has thrown usual crime patterns in a disarray. While robberies and kidnappings are down by 100 percent in City Beautiful, petty thefts continue and smuggling of liquor is thriving even during the outbreak.
According to police crime statistics of April 2020, no incident of kidnapping, sexual harassment, stalking or robbery was reported. In April last year, 15 cases of kidnapping, six cases of sexual harassment and two cases of stalking and robbery were reported.
With people spending all their time at home, thieves are finding it hard to break into houses, said police, and are instead targeting vehicles parked outside houses or on streets.
Although theft of two-wheelers has gone down by 75 percent, some pockets in the city are reporting a few thefts. However, no cars, SUV’s, jeeps and other four-wheelers or three wheelers were reported stolen this month.
Senior superintendent of police(SSP) Nilambari Jagadale said “Crime will keep declining but we are anticipating a rise in motor-vehicle thefts as the movement of vehicles increases, following new orders. Parking spaces might become vulnerable so we are increasing patrolling around them.”
Besides, other petty thefts, too, are down by 68 percent and burglaries at night have decreased by 45 percent in April as compared to last year. But police said they are still receiving complaint of petty thefts.
Snatching cases down by 75%
As per trend of the last three years, there has always been a spurt in snatching cases in March and April. But this year, only five cases were reported in April, as compared to last year when 20 cases were reported.
94 percent decline in rape
Only one case of rape was reported to the police in April this year, as compared to 17 last year, police said. Even dowry cases are down by 77 percent. Police say although few cases of domestic violence and dowry have been reported, these numbers could be artificially low as victims may not be able to report abuse in the presence of their abusers.
55% spike in liquor smuggling
As per police records, this April saw a surge in cases of liquor smuggling. As many as 17 FIRs were registered under the Excise Act alone, as compared to 11 last year in April. Locals said the business of liquor smuggling is thriving in Chandigarh with the patronage of local police. “In our village, several people were selling illicit liquor despite the government’s ban on its sale. No action was taken against them as they had full support of police,” said a resident of Hallomajra, requesting anonymity.
